Read This Before Getting Yourself an Electric Car!

Today's batteries are far more advanced than 10 years ago, so it's important to plan your purchase accordingly.

Any option with high mileage or old age should be cautiously considered. Spending a little more on a used EV is preferable to paying for a battery repair out of warranty.

Almost every used EV has an eight-year or 100,000-mile battery warranty which covers degradation if the battery's capacity drops below 70 percent.

Electric vehicles offer a variety of measures that slow down the deterioration of batteries.

Previously four models of 2012 Nissan Leafs were tested and charged on a 3.3kW home charger, with the other two charged at 50kW fast stations.

As a result, the one charged at the fast station had three percent more destruction after 40,000 miles. Hence, fast charging does not cause very high degradation of battery but the increased thermal load that does.

The damage of these batteries leads to having lesser Li-ions being transferred from cathode to anode. Three percent is still ok, but the one that saves the overall capacity would be the ambient temperature.

The best weather is cold weather as it will slow down the charge rate resulting in a shorter range. Yet, Warm temperatures can promote rapid charging, but prolonged exposure to hot conditions can damage the battery cells.

A battery can be conditioned using the shore power if we leave the car outside while plugging it in. For any rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the more charge cycles, the more wear on the cell.

According to Tesla, Model S will degrade by around 5 percent after 25,000 miles. Like other rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, more charge cycles give more wear to the cell.

''Every battery will degrade every time you charge and discharge it,'' Atlis Motor Vehicles CEO Mark Hanchett, said.

Essentially, it's inevitable that your electric car battery, or any rechargeable Li-ion battery, will lose the capacity it once had. However, the rate at which it'll degrade is the unknown variable.

Everything ranging from your charging habits to the very chemical makeup of the cell will affect your EV battery's long-term energy storage.